07/14/05 — Donation in commissioner's honor will fund education

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Donation in commissioner's honor will fund education

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Published in News on July 14, 2005 1:45 PM

A $10,000 donation by retired Wayne County judge Ken Ellis will enable the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to raise $50,000 for public education about conservation.

Ellis, an avid naturalist, made the donation in honor of Gene Price, editor emeritus of the News-Argus and a member of the commission, on Monday night at a commission meeting in Raleigh.

The gift will allow the commission to match federal grants available for education programs, said wildlife officials.

Ellis's donation will be spread across five years. The money and the matching funds it will generate will be used to create pamphlets, brochures and Web pages to educate the public about the need to protect non-game and endangered species.

Price is a former chairman of the commission and is its longest serving member. He is chairman of the committee responsible for creating wildlife education centers in Raleigh, Corolla and Pisgah National Forest. Price served on the N.C. Seashore Commission whose efforts led to the establishment of the Cape Lookout National Seashore Park.